National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales said supporters of opposition presidential candidate Fernando Poe were trying to spark civil unrest during Monday's voting aimed at bringing down Arroyo's government.

"The plot consists of a coordinated action plan involving civilian, retired and active military operatives," Gonzales told reporters.

He said the aim was to spark civil unrest similar to rioting by millions of supporters of deposed president Joseph Estrada in May, 2001.

"The objective is, it ends with a takeover," Gonzales said.

Gonzales said the alleged plot would include the opposition accusing the Arroyo administration of massive cheating in the May 10 elections with poll-watchers walking out of precincts. This would be followed by attempts to hold a massive street rally using the urban poor.

"They are going to simulate cheating," to deny legitimacy to any Arroyo victory, Gonzales said.

He warned the plotters could even resort to using bombings to sow anger at the government.

Gonzales said he could not confirm if Poe or Estrada were directly involved in the alleged plot.

He said details of the scheme were relayed to him by three different reliable sources who corroborated each other.

He said the government had the names of some of the plotters but could not act till they carried out their plans.

Retired military officers were trying to drum up support for the scheme within the armed forces and junior officers were also being approached, Gonzales added.

Francis Escudero, spokesman for the Poe campaign, brushed aside the allegations, saying "we have no capability to do that. The ones who are capable of doing that are those who are seated in the government."

He charged that the accusations were intended to malign the opposition and frighten the public into not voting for Poe.

Another spokesman, Mike Romero, rejected the allegations as "uncalled for and unfair".

The Philippines, which has a long history of coups and military plotting, has been gripped by rumours and unsubstantiated allegations of unrest throughout the election campaign.

In July last year around 300 junior military officers briefly took over a Manila luxury apartment block and demanded Arroyo step down. Many believe politicians associated with Estrada were behind the rebellion.

The latest independent opinion polls have Arroyo opening up a lead of between four and seven percentage points over Poe.

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